Somewhere or Nowhere?
by CeliaEquus
Summary: Sirius and Hermione have an announcement to make concerning their until-now secret relationship. How will things go? Usual disclaimers apply. Another challenge fic, and my 100th posting!


"Somewhere or Nowhere?"

"I _know_ he's your godfather, Harry…"

"And that doesn't worry you?"

Hermione looked across the room at Sirius, who – like everyone else – was watching the argument.

"No," she whispered. "I love him." Sirius smiled back at her tentatively. "Can't you understand, Harry?"

"No, I can't. For gods' sake, Hermione. What about the age difference? He's twenty years older than you! Remus and Tonks are closer in age."

"Which makes you wonder why he protested so much in the first place," Sirius muttered.

"Twenty years, Padfoot," Remus said, frowning down at his friend. "And you're nothing like Hermione. Neither of you have anything in common!"

"Well," his lips twitched, "opposites attract."

Hermione blushed and looked at her feet, a small smile on her face.

"How long has this been going on?" Ginny asked, frowning as she looked at Sirius, and then Hermione. "When did it start? How old were you?"

"I was the age of consent," she said, raising her head confidently. "And it isn't as though he's my teacher."

"You're only twenty, Hermione," Molly said, and she placed a hand on her shoulder. "You must be confused, dear. You should be with someone your own age."

Hermione shrugged it off, scowling. "I'm not a child. None of us are anymore. The war took that particular luxury from us. And you," she said, turning back to Harry, "you should be grateful. If I wasn't in love with Sirius, we couldn't have brought him back from the Veil when we broke into the Ministry last year."

"We should've known then," Ron said. Hermione and Sirius were going to make an announcement that Boxing Day, but had to start by revealing their secret relationship. That had been enough to bring emotions to an all-time high, as they soon discovered.

"What d'you mean?" Harry asked.

"The way they said hello. While Sirius was hugging you, he was looking at Hermione. She was in tears, and trembling." He looked into the distance, thoughtful. "Now I think about it, I reckon she was trying to keep herself back from him, get her emotions under control." He glanced at Hermione. "Am I right?"

"Yes," she said. "I'm surprised you noticed."

"I did back then," he said, and he studied his shoes, arms folded. "And don't you remember how she jumped into his arms?"

"Yeah," Harry said, shuffling. "Ron, why're you so calm about this?"

"Well, I'm a bit disappointed, but mostly `cause Hermione didn't tell us," he said. "I can understand that, though." He smiled at her, and opened his arms. Relieved, Hermione accepted a hug from him. "They'll balance each other out. Kind of like me and Luna."

"You and Luna?" almost everyone said. Hermione rolled her eyes as Ron pulled back.

"They've been close ever since Dobby took us to Shell Cottage," she said. Ron saw that Sirius was glaring at him, and quickly moved back to Luna. With three long strides, Sirius took his place beside Hermione.

"Will anyone support us?" he asked.

"We will," Luna said, watching the scene with keener eyes than usual. Ron nodded, now eyeing Sirius nervously.

"My parents are on our side," Hermione said, hoping it might tip the odds in their favour. There were a few non-committal nods, but nobody else spoke. Not until Luna piped up again.

"Congratulations!" she said. Hermione and Sirius looked at each other. "You usually only wear a gold chain around your neck. Sirius gave that to you last Christmas, didn't he?" They nodded. "I can see the chain now, so there must be a pendant weighing it down. Or… an engagement ring?"

Hermione bit her lower lip, and Sirius pulled her closer to him. They both nodded again, and there was an outcry. Ron fired golden sparks into the air with a \ bang, and silence fell.

"That was your announcement, wasn't it?" he asked.

"Yes," Hermione whispered.

"It's absolutely out of the question," Molly said. "You are too young, Hermione."

"With all due respect, Mrs. Weasley, you are _not_ my mother."

"And Mr. Granger gave his consent," Sirius added.

"Probably too scared to refuse you, mate," Ron said, and he relaxed when the Marauder grinned at him.

"W-we'll leave you to think about it for a bit," Hermione said, turning into her fiancé's arms. He held her close. "Shall we go to the Leaky Cauldron?"

"Whatever you like, love," he said, tightening his grip on her. He spun them away, and they landed at the bar. The Leaky Cauldron had been renovated after the war, since people needed a place to eat and drink while Diagon Alley was being returned to its original state. The building had been expanded on the inside, and there was now a small section where couples could dance to a magical jukebox.

"Mr. Black, Miss Granger," Tom said. "What would you like?"

"Just a Gillywater for me," Hermione said. Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Well, I had plenty of sweet things to drink at Grimmauld Place."

"Good point," he said, grimacing at the memory of Molly's egg nog. "Very well. The same for me, Tom."

"On credit?"

"That's right."

They sat on the barstools, and sipped their drinks slowly. Soft music was playing in the background. Tonight's theme, instead of being more Christmas songs as they had been the previous two days, was musical theatre.

"It reminds me of our first date," Hermione said. Sirius knew what she meant. They had attended a Muggle dinner theatre, keeping far away from anyone who might recognise them. They had only kissed before he went through the Veil, but felt free to date – or 'court', as Sirius put it – after the final battle, and after he was cleared.

Once "What I Did for Love" was finished, Sirius stood and held out his hand.

"Dance with me," he said. She nodded, and he led her over to the dance corner. She stepped into his embrace, and they slowly turned around the floor, marvelling out how appropriate it was that "Somewhere" started to play.

_There's a place for us,_

_A time and place for us._

_Peace and quiet and open air_

_Wait for us somewhere._

_There's a time for us,_

_Some day a time for us._

_Time together with time to spare,_

_Time to look, time to care._

_Someday, somewhere_

_We'll find a new way of living._

_We'll find a way of forgiving._

_Somewhere._

_There's a place for us,_

_A time and place for us._

_Hold my hand and we're halfway there,_

_Hold my hand and I'll take you there,_

_Somehow, someday, somewhere!_

"I hope we have a happier ending," Hermione whispered. It was surprisingly loud in the otherwise silent pub. The clientele and staff were staring at them.

"I know we will, Hermione. Hell, we've got Ron on our side, and Luna. We can't go wrong!"

She giggled, and they shuffled around some more through the next few numbers. Finally, when it came to an upbeat song, they started to return to the bar. Hermione blushed when she realised that they had had a very attentive audience, but Sirius just pulled her to the doorway.

"What's wr…"

"I'm tired of waiting. Let's go to the Ministry. We can get married there, right now."

Hermione was shocked, but quickly recovered her powers of speech. "I thought that the point of the announcement was to get people involved…"

"And how long will we have to wait for them to accept us, let alone help out with the wedding?" She tilted her head, looking into the distance. "`Mione, you know it makes sense. Let's just go. Come on." He held out his hand.

"My parents…"

"We'll get them now if you want. Love," he cupped her cheek, and she gazed up at him, "the more I think about being married to you, the more it makes me crazy that we're not. Save me, Hermione. Say you'll marry me today."

She smiled shakily, and sniffed, keeping tears at bay. "Of course. Let's get Mum and Dad."

She held his hand, and they Apparated away.

**

* * *

**

****

**This fic was for A Very Musical Challenge. My prompt was (clearly) "Somewhere", from** _**West Side Story**_**.**

The implication is that they got Sirius when they broke into the Ministry of Magic during the horcrux hunt. It made the difference between Remus and Tonks dying and living, which is fortunate for Teddy. Hurrah!

**And yay! This is the 100th thing I've posted on this website, although "Purity" is still in progress.**


End file.
